My son is 7 months and still nursing strong. He has not had one single illness yet, not even the sniffles! And he is extremely advanced for his age, Though I also contribute a lot of that to me being with him all the time, but I am sure nursing helps a great deal as well. I plan to let him nurse as long as he wants to. Well, maybe not as long as he wants to. He has to wean before college!

Liz! I think YOU will make the choice when he stops, otherwise he'll bite you until you are raw.
I used to work in a pre-school, and was astounded one day when a new child (3 years old) reached up and grabbed my boob. When I pulled back, he started to cry and grab at my boob in a frustrated manner. Later, his mom explained she still breast fed him. She continued until he was four. Even though I am pro-breastfeeding, I think nature has determined that when the teeth come in, the nursing stops.

Originally posted by cwoman
I think nature has determined that when the teeth come in, the nursing stops.

Actually, I will let my son lead weaning. He is 7 months old and already has 5 teeth with 2 more cutting through and biting is not a big problem for us. He has bitten me a few times but a firm no was enough to scare him into not doing it anymore. A child who is properly latched on to the breast is not able to bite. When a baby bites during nursing that means they are finished eating and ready to play, ands that is your cue to promptly end the nursing session.

I don’t think that getting teeth is nature’s cue to stop nursing, if that were the case my son would have been cut off at 4 months, which would not have been good for his health, or mine for that matter considering the longer you nurse the lower your risk of breast cancer is.

I know tons of women who have successfully breastfed past 2 years and I intend to the same. I enjoy nursing a great deal and it is the best thing for both of us. I am sure when he weans it will be harder on me then him

I think when I have children (notice when, not if) that I will breastfeed at least until they are nine months old or so and ready to be weaned to a sippy cup. My mommy breast fed me until I was 14 months old, and look at how I turned out!

Originally posted by Liz14
I know tons of women who have successfully breastfed past 2 years and I intend to the same. I enjoy nursing a great deal and it is the best thing for both of us. I am sure when he weans it will be harder on me then him

My daughter nursed until she was nearly three years old. It had become more of a comfort thing by then (she ate "real" food and drank milk out of a cup), but that was how I got her to sleep every night. When I got pregnant with her baby sister, I told her the boob milk (he he, she really called it that) was for the new baby. She said, "okay" and that was the end of her breastfeeding days. You're right, you will miss it when you're done!

I've heard that breastfeeding can be really painful at first and leave your nipples quite raw, and sometimes bleeding. Is this true? If it is, wouldn't that discourage most mothers to be from breastfeeding? What can we do about this problem when and if it arrises during our pregnancy or first few days/weeks after birth?

Originally posted by ForTheLoveOfMyRace I've heard that breastfeeding can be really painful at first and leave your nipples quite raw, and sometimes bleeding. Is this true? If it is, wouldn't that discourage most mothers to be from breastfeeding? What can we do about this problem when and if it arrises during our pregnancy or first few days/weeks after birth?

88
Crissy

It hurts if it's being done incorrectly. Newborn babies will suck all day if you let them. The trick is in knowing when they're eating and when they're just sucking. Breasts don't make good pacifiers.

Another thing that can cause trouble is if your baby is actually sucking on your nipple, not your breast. Newborn's mouths are tiny, so you have to "tease" them with your nipple until they open up really wide. Then you have to "shove" your breast in there. Your nipple will lay in the back of their mouth, and they'll be sucking on the breast. The breast is where the milk is, the nipple is just the means of getting the milk out.

Lanolin (sp?) is good for any cracking, dryness, or bleeding that occurs before you get the hang of it. Lactation consultants can usually be found in the yellow pages if you were to need some one-on-one help.

I think the myth that "it hurts" scares a lot of women out of breastfeeding and that is sad. All we can do is encourage expectant mothers and offer our support.

Originally posted by ForTheLoveOfMyRace Wow! Thanks for that informatoin. When my time comes I will keep that in mind

88
Crissy

No problem. I learned a lot with my first one. There's actually more to it than what I posted...you will want to always make sure you're comfortable before the baby starts nursing. When I said "shove your breast in baby's mouth" it's really more like shoving his head onto your breast. You don't want to be bent over him for 15 minutes straight. When the time comes, you'll get the hang of it. There are lots of good books out there that demonstrate the proper way to hold the baby. There's fun names for different positions, like the "football hold". Plus you can get all kinds of neat things like nursing pillows, cute dresses with slits so you can nurse in public, matching outfits for mom and baby, etc. I used to get a neat catalog with all kinds of stuff. Can't remember the name but if you do a search for "nursing clothes" you may find it.

Originally posted by Blodyn Newborn's mouths are tiny, so you have to "tease" them with your nipple until they open up really wide. Then you have to "shove" your breast in there.

LOL. My son is just about 8 months now and I had almost forgotten about the boob shoving part But it is so true, there is no other way to explain it.

Also when they are still very young and they can’t see well, they get hungry and frantically search for the breast shaking their head all over the place. They can smell it but just can’t seem to find it. I always loved watching my son do that for a minute before I helped him out, it was so cute

My son is a big boy now, helps himself to the breast whenever he pleases. I often wake up to him nursing, he doesn’t need my help anymore